Virginia basketball traveled down to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, for a battle against Wake Forest.
The Cavaliers started out hot, scoring 44 points in the first half, and held off a furious Demon Deacon rally in the second half to win by eight. Here are three takeaways from the game.
Takeaway #1: Wake Forest suffers a bad loss
Wake Forest entered the game as the last team in the NCAA Tournament in Joe Lunardi’s “Bracketology.” Coming off a double-digit loss to a bad NC State team, the Demon Deacons couldn’t really afford to lose to the Cavaliers. But they did, and now their tournament resume is badly damaged.
Now, Wake Forest is left with few opportunities to rebound from this loss. The Demon Deacons play Notre Dame, Duke and Georgia Tech to close out the regular season. Wins over the Fighting Irish and the Yellow Jackets would do nothing to help the Demon Deacons’ NCAA Tournament chances, but beating the Blue Devils might get them back onto the right side of the bubble. However, Wake Forest might have to clinch an auto-bid if it can’t win in Cameron Indoor Stadium next week.
Takeaway #2: 3-point line the difference
Virginia and Wake Forest entered the game on opposite sides of the 3-point spectrum. The Cavaliers are one of the best shooting teams from behind the arc, while the Demon Deacons are one of the worst. It was glaringly obvious in Wednesday night’s game.
Virginia made 10 3-pointers – four by junior guard Isaac McKneely – and shot 45.5% from behind the arc. Meanwhile, Wake Forest made just two shots from behind the arc and missed 12. In the final minute, senior guard Cameron Hildreth missed an open 3-pointer that would’ve cut the Demon Deacons’ deficit to five. The struggle from behind the arc prevented Wake Forest from getting into any consistent rhythm, while the Cavs were able to effectively counter any push Wake Forest made to get back into it.
With the loss, Wake Forest is in desperate need of a big win next week over Duke and/or a deep run in the ACC Tournament in two weeks. But without any consistent ability to knock down an open three, it’s going to be extremely hard for them to make a push back onto the right side of the bubble.
Takeaway #3: Wake Forest in the paint
Just before tipoff, Virginia announced that redshirt freshman forward Anthony Robinson would be out because of a foot injury. Robinson has been playing well for the Cavaliers and has seen his role expand lately. Losing him for the game shrunk UVA’s frontcourt to just junior Elijah Saunders, sophomore Blake Buchanan and freshman Jacob Cofie – all good players, but none provide the same inside presence that Robinson does.
It was apparent that the Cavs missed his size and physicality in the paint, particularly on the defensive end. The Demon Deacons got whatever they wanted near the rim, scoring 52 points in the paint and shooting 12-18 (67%) on layups. It kept them in the game and prevented the Cavaliers from pulling away.
The Demon Deacons were also able to get whatever they wanted near the rim because of UVa’s defense. Virginia has been switching all screens lately; it didn’t work against North Carolina and didn’t work against Wake Forest. Senior guard Hunter Sallis (25 points) and Hildreth (22) repeatedly blew by UVa’s big men and got open layups.
It’s apparent that Virginia’s switching isn’t working, and the Hoos can’t count on the offense to score 80-plus points a game. The defense needs to play better over the next three games and the ACC Tournament in two weeks.
Up next for Virginia basketball (14-14, 7-10): vs. No. 13 Clemson (23-5, 15-2) – Mar. 1 at Noon EST
Up next for Wake Forest (19-9, 11-6): vs. Notre Dame (12-16, 6-11) – Mar. 1 at 5:15 p.m. EST